Ring Out Wild Bells
by Alfred Lord Tennyson
(Summary & Analysis)
Alfred Tennyson was
one of the most popular British poets of all time. He was from royal and noble
ancestry but was brought up in a middle-class household. A lot of his work was
rooted in mythology. Tennyson tried his hand at stage plays also, but these are
not considered to be particularly good.
First Stanza
Ring out, wild
bells, to the wild sky,
The flying cloud,
the frosty light;
The year is dying
in the night;
Ring out, wild
bells, and let him die.
Since, the poem,
‘Ring Out Wild Bells’ is about New Year, the word, ‘bells’ is mentioned in the
first stanza. They are described as being wild. This word helps set the
underlying tone for the rest of the poem. The thought of ‘the holiday season’
continue with the narrator, and he describs the light as being “frosty”. The
narrator uses the words, dying and die, for the year, in the last two lines.
The second time ‘death’ is used in the last line of this stanza.
Second Stanza
Ring out the old,
ring in the new,
Ring, happy
bells, across the snow:
The year is
going, let him go;
Ring out the
false, ring in the true.
The first line suggests
the concept of ringing in the new year. ‘Out’ with the old and ‘in’ with the
new etc. Here bells are described as being happy rather than wild, this makes the
image much softer. The poet instructs the readers, to let the previous year go.
In the last line of this stanza, the “old” is synonymous with the false and the
“new” with the true.
Third Stanza
Ring out the
grief that saps the mind,
For those that
here we see no more,
Ring out the feud
of rich and poor,
Ring in redress
to all mankind.
In this stanza
also the idea of bell ringing continues. Here the poet is telling us to “ring
out” grief. We need to let go of things like grief. The emotion is described
aptly as sapping the mind. The word “here” suggests the mortal realm. It means,
that we will see them again but somewhere else, that is, on the other side, or
in heaven. In the last two lines of this stanza, the poet asks, to end all the disputes
between the classes.
Fourth Stanza
Ring out a slowly
dying cause,
And ancient forms
of party strife;
Ring in the
nobler modes of life,
With sweeter
manners, purer laws.
The negativity
felt towards the old system is even more clear here and the word, ‘dying’ is
used once again. The things, that happened last year and before that, are felt
to have not been working. He feels, that the system is broken and he calls for
a nobler way of life and, better manners and purer laws.
Fifth Stanza
Ring out the
want, the care the sin,
The faithless
coldness of the times;
Ring out, ring
out my mournful rhymes,
But ring the
fuller minstrel in.
In this stanza of
Ring Out Wild Bells, poem, the narrator once again describes the negatives that
he sees. He wants to get rid of want, sin and care. Care for frivolous things.
In the second line the cold is once again mentioned but this time it is
ascribed to the era that they live in. The poet states that they want their own
“mournful rhymes” to be “rung out”. He requests a “fuller minstrel” a minstrel
is another word of a performer.
Sixth Stanza
Ring out false
pride in place and blood,
The civic slander
and the spite;
Ring in the love
of truth and right,
Ring in the
common love of good.
The first line of
this stanza attacks on nepotism and false patriotism. The poet continues to
attack the ideas of civic slander. He is unhappy about the local state of his
home country. He wants these concepts to be replaced with love, truth and
goodness.
Seventh Stanza
Ring out old
shapes of foul disease,
Ring out the narrowing
lust of gold;
Ring out the
thousand wars of old,
Ring in the
thousand years of peace.
In this stanza, the
poet says, that we should get rid of disease, which is perhaps a bit hopeful.
In the second line, he suggests, that the love of money is something that
should disappear with the new year and finally he turns his attention to war.
He wants to usher it out and replace it with peace.
Eighth Stanza
Ring in the
valiant man and free,
The larger heart,
the kindlier hand;
Ring out the darkness
of the land,
Ring in the
Christ that is to be.
In this stanza,
the poet talks about, how he wants mankind to be going forward: Valiant, free,
big-hearted and kind. In the last line, he talks about ‘ringing in Christ’. This
is a reference to the second coming of Christ.
Ring Out Wild
Bells is written in free verse form. It is separated into eight stanzas, which
are all four lines long. Each line is roughly 8 syllables long and uses 4 iambs,
giving the poem a very even rhythm. There is also a consistent rhyming pattern
which adds music to the poem. The rhyming pattern is abba.
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